


21st Century Cure

by sidetone



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Repo! The Genetic Opera Fusion, Assassins & Hitmen, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, platonic naekusaba
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21601555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sidetone/pseuds/sidetone
Summary: "Ever since organ repossession was made legal, walking home alone at night was unthinkable. Men dressed in dark surgical outfits prowled the streets, perfectly trained to quickly and efficiently cut someone open and leave them for dead. Repo Men."--Makoto Naegi is 90 days late on his surgery payment, and is therefore up next on the Repo Men's hitlist. However, the Repo Woman assigned to kill him, Mukuro Ikusaba, can't bring herself to end his life.
Relationships: Ikusaba Mukuro & Naegi Makoto
Kudos: 7





	21st Century Cure

**Author's Note:**

> this is SO self indulgent but hey i hope y'all enjoy anyways

A chill ran up Makoto’s spine as he stopped in his tracks, glancing down the dark road behind him. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but he was painfully aware that his payment for his liver replacement surgery was long overdue, and god knows he heard the stories of what happened to those who failed to cough up enough money. Ever since organ repossession was made legal, walking home alone at night was unthinkable. Men dressed in dark surgical outfits prowled the streets, perfectly trained to quickly and efficiently cut someone open and leave them for dead. **Repo Men.** They sounded like something straight out of an urban legend, but that was the horrifying reality of the future.

Hazel eyes squinted at every dark corner in sight, flinching at every little movement. Just a few more blocks and he’d be home… Not that home was safe, but he certainly had a better chance at survival if the Repo Men decided to strike there… Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. After all, he had always been a little more optimistic than others.

\--- 

Mukuro’s typically cold, stoic gaze softens as she watches the boy who was supposed to be her next victim shuffle down the street, feeling hesitation for the first time since she’d become a Repo Woman. It had been a few years since she’d graduated high school, but she would recognize that face anywhere. Makoto Naegi, her former classmate- The first person she remembered ever being kind to her. Something as simple as just a smile at her in class or sharing his notes with her meant the world to her, honestly. But she couldn’t be sentimental. She had a job, and she had to go through with it. No matter what.

She trailed close behind him, her hesitation and doubt only growing stronger as she did. Makoto didn’t deserve to die just because he couldn’t pay off his debts in time. He wasn’t like those… Zydrate junkies and graverobbers, he was a genuinely good person who hadn’t done anything to deserve such a painful, gruesome fate, she knew it. It was just one liver anyways, right? Mukuro knew they had tens of thousands more in stock. She knew it wasn’t that simple, that if GeneCo. found out- if her family found out- she would be in deep trouble, but there wasn’t any time to think as she closed in on him. _It was now or never._

She heard his muffled scream as she clamped a hand over his mouth, struggling before he went limp as he inhaled the chloroform on the rag she had over his mouth and nose. Mukuro paused for a moment, as if to ask herself if she was seriously going to break the rules like this, before she lugged him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, huffing a bit as she did. Her heart was pounding in her chest… She hadn’t been this anxious in years. This was the first time she’d gone against GeneCo., the first time she’d- She snapped back to reality as she heard the sound of footsteps and chatter from down the street, likely a group of young adults walking home from the Zydrate Addicts Anonymous meeting. She had to get going, she couldn’t have anyone seeing this. With a grunt of frustration and effort, she trudged her way back to the house, making sure to take the back entrance in hopes she wouldn’t run into her siblings.

\---

Makoto woke up with a gasp, jolting upwards with wide eyes. Holyshitholyshitholyshit- Was he dead?! Was that a dream?! His gaze darted around the room he found himself in- He was on the bed of a very minimally decorated room, a single window looking out on the urban lights of the city. On a rack on the wall, there was a dark surgeons outfit, complete with gloves, boots, and the signature mask of a Repo Man. So it was real… He stared at the gear in disbelief for a moment, trembling slightly as he wondered what he should do or why he was alive-

“You’re awake.” A woman’s voice came from behind him, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin, yelping and whipping his head around to see who had spoken. What the…? It took him a moment to recognize her, but there was no doubt that the woman standing in the doorway was his former classmate: Mukuro Ikusaba. She had always been so quiet and solemn in class, he rarely saw her smile… He tried to cheer her up a little on the rare occasions they spoke. What was she doing here…?

“A-ah, uh, yeah, I am?” He sputtered, staring at her in disbelief. “What… What are we doing here? What happened?”

Mukuro sighed and stepped closer, muscles tense and posture stiff and formal. “Makoto Naegi. You are 90 days late on your liver transplant payment. By law, I am required to take the organ you purchased from GeneCo. back by the most efficient means possible.” She stated, gray eyes staring down at him intensely, before her gaze softened. “However…” She hesitated for a moment, swallowing the lump in her throat before continuing. “I decided to spare your life. You see, you… Were kind to me when nobody else was, and as selfish and idealistic as it may be, I don’t want the world to lose a genuinely good person like you.”

There was a moment of silence, the brunette staring up at her in shock, before a relieved smile cracked across his nervous expression. “F-for real? Thank you, I-”

“No need to thank me.” Mukuro quickly cut in, turning away from him, almost a little embarrassed at the praise. ‘Thank you’ was such an alien phrase to her… “In any case, in order for this to work- ‘This’ being you staying alive, there’s going to need to be quite a few… Changes. We'll need to change your files to say that you've paid for your surgery, remove the tracker from your liver- You get the gist. However, if our programmer thinks that just changing the files to say that you paid without actually having any money to prove it, then... We may need to mark you as legally dead.”

There was another pause in their conversation as Makoto took a moment to process everything, his stomach twisting in knots. Legally dead? What did that mean for him? How was he supposed to get a job or, well, do anything when he was supposed to be buried 6 feet under? He stared down at his hands for a moment in solemn contemplation, before he lifted his eyes to hers again, brows furrowed in worry. He had to be optimistic and hope that their first idea would work, but... He couldn't help the sinking feeling he was getting.

“Um, if I may ask… How exactly am I supposed to, er… Live after that, if I'm marked dead? Like, do I just go home, or…?” He asked nervously, to which Mukuro replied with an uncertain look of her own, turning her head away and crossing her arms over her chest. 

“I’m… Not entirely sure, actually.” She muttered, biting her lip as she thought. “I hate to admit that I haven’t really thought past what needs to be done just to keep you alive… I suppose we would have to forge an entirely new identity for you, if you want to have any semblance of a normal life again.”

Makoto looked rather downcast at that, his eyes beginning to tear a bit as it sank in that there was a possibility he wasn’t going to be able to see his family again; not for a long while at least to avoid suspicion. Mukuro sensed his disappointment, and she sighed a bit, feeling bad that things had to be this way, but… He was alive, at the very least. The world wouldn’t pointlessly lose another one of the rare beams of hope in it. 

“I’m… Sorry, but I’m afraid that’s just how things could turn out.” She muttered, putting a hand on his shoulder awkwardly in an attempt to comfort him. He looked up at her and smiled sadly, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Not to mention there's still a chance we can get away with this without marking you dead, so... Just hold onto that hope for now."

“Don’t be sorry. You saved me, after all. You're right, though- I just need to stay optimistic.” He responded, and she nodded in understanding. Of course it was an upsetting possibility to consider, he would have to leave everything he knew behind and start over again, a different name, different home, different appearance- Everything, gone. Changed. It was something nobody should have to go through just to survive, but that was the way things worked in the era of GeneCo., unfortunately. 

“I see. Anyhow, we should get started as soon as possible. I know someone who will be able to change all of your official records, we can start there.” Mukuro straightened herself a bit, going back to being more formal as she went back to discussing their plans once more. Fujisaki wouldn’t be hard to convince at all when it came to this- After all, the programmer had the same sort of idealistic wishes of saving good people, surely she would be up for this, right? As timid as she was, her will to do good could push her to break the rules. “However, seeing how late it is, we can’t do it today, as she’s long gone home. We will have to start with that early tomorrow morning.” 

Makoto nodded in agreement- That sounded reasonable, but he was still a bit unclear on some things. “Okay, sounds like a plan. But uh, in the meantime… Where exactly should I be staying…? I know this must be your room, a-and I really don’t want to be an intrusion…” 

Her brows furrowed a bit at the question, glancing towards the door. “As awkward as this is, I can’t have you stay anywhere else in the house, at risk of my siblings finding you… There’s no doubt that they’ll be far less merciful than I’ve been.”

The brunette was only more confused by that, tilting his head a bit. “Your… Siblings?” He asked, unable to keep himself from asking out of pure curiosity.

“Surely you know them, but we have different last names, so I can’t blame you for not knowing that we are related.” She nodded, turning her head back to look him in the eyes. “Junko Enoshima and Byakuya Togami, the heirs to GeneCo. They are my siblings- Or, step-siblings, rather. I’m not really one of the heirs, though- I’m essentially entirely out of the picture in that regard.” She explained, walking to the window and gesturing to one of the many glowing billboards, plastered with the faces of the heirs to the megacorporation. 

Makoto’s eyes widened in shock, mouth agape. “What-?! Are you serious?! Oh my god, I… W-wow, I guess I understand why I have to stay in here, then…” After all, he’d heard many stories in the news and magazines about how ruthless the two of them were, especially Junko, who had quite the tendency for causing violence and despair just for the hell of it. It was glaringly clear that they were a pair of very dangerous individuals, especially for someone in his situation.

He quickly got off the bed, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “W-well, I guess I should probably be getting to sleep soon, seeing as we’re getting up so early tomorrow…” He chuckled awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. “I can, uh, sleep on the floor- I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything.” 

“Right, it is getting late, after all. We will need all the rest we can get, there is much we need to do.” She nodded, feeling a bit bad that he would be sleeping on the floor, but she felt it would be even stranger if she insisted that they sleep in the same bed, so she didn’t protest. She did give him a couple of pillows and a blanket however, just to make sure he would actually be able to fall asleep.

She found it a bit hard to sleep, her head still reeling a bit from breaking the rules this much. It was exciting and scary at the same time, but… She felt good about it. Tomorrow, Chihiro Fujisaki alone would decide his fate, but no matter what happened, she could just be thankful that she had saved him.


End file.
